A new state law requires the Summit County Council to transition from an at-large council to one with districts for all five seats.
That means residents, instead of voting for all five councilmembers, will elect a single representative from their geographic area.
Oct. 1, the all-Democrat council is scheduled to approve a map drawn by the Summit County Districting Commission — mostly composed of the county’s mayors — after a 3 p.m. public hearing in the Sheldon Richins Building.
“Since we don't have the opportunity to change the map in any way, taking public comment is — to me, it seems futile,” County Manager Shayne Scott said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” Sept. 30. “But if individuals want to come and talk about the districting, specifically or in general, we're open to hearing that.”
Click here to view the recommended map.
If the council approves the map as required in the law passed earlier this year, the GOP is likely to gain two council seats. That’s supported by separate analyses of voter data performed by KPCW and Summit County Republican Party data analyst Jimmy May.
Click here for the Summit County Clerk's Office's 2024 General Precinct Table Report.
KPCW looked at precinct-by-precinct voter registration numbers from the Summit County Clerk’s Office to compare the numbers of registered Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated voters.
However, the clerk’s office says the party affiliations of 65% of the nearly 30,000 voters in the county aren’t public. Almost 15,000 are “private,” and over 4,400 are "withheld."
Unlike the public and the press, political parties, candidates and government entities have access to 100% of voter affiliation data — although “withheld” voters are still afforded anonymity.
May said registered Republicans outnumber Democrats at least 4-to-1 in both east side council districts. But he acknowledged that, in Utah, some people register as Republicans to vote in the GOP’s closed primary. According to May, about one third of Summit County voters are unaffiliated.
KPCW also looked at the precinct-level results of the two contested Summit County Council races in 2024. Democrats Roger Armstrong and Megan McKenna defeated Republicans Tory Welch and Ari Ioannides, respectively.
Going by 2024 vote tallies, the two proposed districts on the east side appear to be Republican strongholds. Both GOP candidates won the precincts in the North Summit and South Summit council districts by about 1,400 votes. The margins in North Summit were 2-to-1.
The three western Summit County districts are blue. Armstrong won the precincts in those districts by around 1,400 votes.
McKenna enjoyed slimmer margins, getting 1,200 more votes in the western Snyderville Basin district and less than 1,000 votes more in the other two.
May said there aren’t any guarantees that a Republican will win a council seat in the next election. But Ioannides, now the local GOP chair, said “even one would help.” He emphasized the need for geographic representation.
“I don’t think it is as much what districts will go to what party,” Ioannides wrote to KPCW. “It is more about giving underrepresented voters a voice on the council.”
KPCW compared the initial map the district commission drafted with the one it recommended to the council. Between the two maps, the margins between the Republican and Democratic candidates didn’t change by more than a few dozen votes.
Once adopted, the county council’s districts will only be valid until the 2030 Census. That’s when all districts nationwide will be redrawn to account for population changes.
